Inside the Liability Insurance Crisis Pushing Oregon Ski Areas to the Brink Oregon’s outdoor recreation industry is in the midst of a liability insurance crisis after earlier this year, Safehold Special Risk, a major insurer for ski resorts, announced it would no longer provide coverage in the state. The decision stems from Oregon’s legal climate, where liability waivers are largely unenforceable following a series of lawsuits, leaving businesses more exposed to lawsuits […] Industry News Brent Glogau | October 24, 2025 1 Comment
Timberline Parks, Oregon, Announces Closing Date Timberline, Oregon, is known for having one of the longest lift-served ski seasons in North America. In early July, the ski resort announced that it was aiming to remain open through August 20 this year. The announcement was confirmed by John Burton, Timberline’s director of marketing and public affairs, to Powder Magazine. Burton did say that the August 20 date is […] Industry News Gregg Frantz | August 12, 2025 2 Comments
Oregon’s Legislative Session Ends With No Change to Liability Protections for Ski Areas Oregon’s outdoor recreation industry is facing a growing insurance crisis after major insurer Safehold Special Risk announced last month it will no longer provide coverage in the state. Safehold, which insures ski resorts in 37 states, cited Oregon’s legal environment—particularly its weak enforcement of liability waivers—as the reason for its exit. Related: Oregon’s Ski Resorts at Risk as Key Insurer […] Industry News Brent Glogau | July 2, 2025 0 Comments
Oregon’s Ski Resorts at Risk as Key Insurer Exits Over Liability Laws A growing insurance crisis is threatening the future of Oregon’s outdoor recreation industry, with ski resorts sounding the alarm after a major insurer announced it is pulling out of the state. Safehold Special Risk, which has provided coverage for iconic destinations like Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline Lodge, is ending its business in Oregon, citing the state’s unfavorable legal environment […] Industry News Brent Glogau | June 19, 2025 0 Comments
High Avalanche Danger Today in: Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, & Idaho Avalanche.org is reporting HIGH avalanche danger today, 12/28/24, in: Wyoming Utah Colorado Washington Oregon Idaho Large amounts of new snow and weak snowpack structure are generally to blame for the elevated avalanche danger in these regions. HIGH avalanche danger is likely to continue in these regions through the weekend and potentially beyond. If you must go backcountry skiing/riding in these […] Avalanche AvyBrains | December 28, 2024 0 Comments
State of the Western US Snowpack: California, Oregon, and Nevada 200% Average, Montana and Wyoming 75% It’s still early in the season, but this image of the current snowpack across most of the western states makes for good reading. As winter approaches, the latest snow water equivalent data from December 4 reveals a varied snowpack across the Western United States, with some states experiencing exceptional early-season conditions while others lag behind. Oregon is leading the charge with […] SnowBrains | December 4, 2024 0 Comments
Skiing the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington When you look at a map of the Pacific Northwest, it’s easy to focus on the iconic Cascade Mountains’ captivating beauty and awe-inspiring volcanoes running north to south. That said, a lesser-known mountain range, the Blue Mountains, aka the “The Blues,” is equally as beautiful, albeit more remote, and positioned in the interior of Washington and Oregon. Let’s first gain […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | November 10, 2024 0 Comments
Central Oregon Locals Form B Corp With Intent to Purchase Mount Bachelor Resort Last month, on August 22, POWDR Corporation announced it was selling Killington Resort and Pico Mountain, Vermont, to local passholders, as well as three other resorts, including Mount Bachelor, Oregon. Related: Following Sale of Killington Resort, VT, POWDR Also Wants to Sell 3 Other Resorts Shortly after the announcement, a local effort emerged to buy the resort in Central Oregon […] Industry News Brent Glogau | September 2, 2024 0 Comments
U.S. Alpine Skier Luke Winters Weds Long-Term Girlfriend in Beautiful Ceremony in Oregon U.S. Alpine skier Luke Winters married his long-term girlfriend Cassandra Ingram on July 13 in a beautiful ceremony in their native Oregon. The pair had been an item since freshman year in high school and have been engaged since September 2022. Winters competes in Slalom and Giant Slalom as well as Combined and made his FIS World Cup debut […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | July 21, 2024 0 Comments
Surfing Oregon – Why, When, Where? A cold, wild coast that can regularly generate numbers like 24-foot swells at 8-second intervals with 100mph wind gusts and a sea temperature of 46 degrees, Oregon is neither for the faint of heart nor the physically frail. But it does have some damn good surfing, and for all levels despite its notoriety. Pronounced “organ,” by locals, the coastal state […] Surf Martin Kuprianowicz | May 29, 2024 0 Comments
State of the Western U.S. Snowpack: Season-Saving February for California, Wyoming, Oregon While Utah/CO Thrive and PNW Still Lags Behind February was a good month for most of the West. The states with an already near-average snowpack at the start of the month like Utah and Nevada got several big storms that have put them well above average for this time of year, with Colorado also now sitting at a slightly above-average snowpack. But where the February snow really […] Weather WeatherBrains | March 4, 2024 0 Comments
Timberline, OR, Report: Oregon Powder Day Report from March 1, 2024 As a lifelong Oregonian who has toured around Timberline Lodge at least thirty times, today was the first time I rode the lower lifts. I spent two early August mornings on Palmer alongside the U.S. Ski Team, but those were desperation plays that could not have felt more different than today. The Pacific Northwest spent […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | March 4, 2024 0 Comments
Tom Dick and Harry Mountain & Ski Bowl Backcountry, Oregon After so long without a base, Oregon terrain has finally received enough snow to make it feel like real winter. Although Timberline is currently #2 on the North American snowpack list, I went to a local haunt to tour during the storm while Timberline was borderline whited-out. A tour up Tom Dick and Harry Mountain coupled with some hard-earned powder […] Nicky Blumm | January 12, 2024 0 Comments
Snowfall is Finally on its Way to Oregon After Worst Start to Winter in 40 Years The snowfall across much of the U.S. this winter has been disappointing. Although plenty of resorts are open, the average snowpack is well below historical averages. Related: The State of the Snowpack: Hope For More Snow in 2024 Nowhere else is this more apparent than in the Pacific Northwest on Oregon’s Mt. Hood. For December, which is typically one of the […] Weather Brent Glogau | January 4, 2024 1 Comment
Home Mountain Shoutout: Mt Hood Meadows — Oregon’s Superior Inbounds Terrain In my teenage years, I was lucky enough to spend weekends in Parkdale, a 25-minute drive from the closest ski resort. Winter on Mt. Hood started my relationship with Oregon’s ski culture, largely due to Oregon’s best ski resort: Mt. Hood Meadows. Mt. Hood is perhaps best known by skiers for the historical Timberline Lodge and its year-round snow operations […] Spencer Davies | November 13, 2023 0 Comments
[VIDEO] First Powder Day of Winter 23/24 in Oregon An arctic airmass has brought the first serious snowfall to Oregon, delivering some early season powdery delight to Oregon ski areas. The Santiam Pass between Willamette Valley and Central Oregon was covered in snow and the Oregon Department of Transportation (‘ODOT’) have been busy keeping roads safe. Mt Hood Meadows and Timberline Lodge have received around a foot of snow […] Industry News SnowBrains | October 26, 2023 0 Comments
[FOR SALE] $1.25 Million Spout Springs Ski Area in Oregon Still Looking for Operator Every skier or snowboarder has probably dreamed of owning a ski resort one day and how amazing that feeling would be. A few smaller ski resorts each year usually pop up on the market at a relatively affordable price. Those resorts are not huge mega-resorts that very few could afford but are for sale for under $5 million. A group […] Industry News Gregg Frantz | October 17, 2023 1 Comment
What’s New at Oregon Ski Areas for 2023/24 Two New High-Speed Six-Person Chairlifts & Multi-Million Dollar Investments Re-Energizing Local Resorts Oregon ski areas are heading into this 2023/24 El Niño season following record snowfall and visitation over the past season. The big news is the addition of two new high-speed six-pack chairs—the Mt. Hood Express at Mt. Hood Meadows and the Skyliner chairlift at Mt. Bachelor. Oregon’s twelve […] Industry News SnowBrains | October 13, 2023 0 Comments
Skiing the PNW – The Best Months to Ski Oregon and Washington Skiing in Oregon and Washington can be incredible – volcanoes and glaciers allow for skiing year-round, moisture-filled snow sticks to steeper faces, 10,000′ to 14,000′ mountains rise up from sea level making for some seriously long descents, and the area receives hundreds of inches of snow annually. So when is the best time to ski in this area of the […] Conditions Report Jenah MacGrain | October 3, 2023 0 Comments
Tributary Whitewater – Find Your Adventure on Oregon’s Rogue and Snake Rivers Tributary Whitewater In 1978, Tributary Whitewater Tours was founded by Dan Buckley when he began guiding whitewater rafting trips in California. For many years they have been sending trips down the American River, Truckee River, North Yuba River, Lower Klamath River, and the East Fork Carson River, all while spreading the excitement, wonder, and natural beauty that the rivers bring. […] Featured Article Luke Guilford | October 2, 2023 1 Comment
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